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TO PRIORITY HONG KONG TELNO 519 OF 01 JULY 1975 AND TO
PRIORITY THE HAGUE.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG: THE HAGUE SAVING TELNO 139
OF 27 MAY.
1. NETHERLANDS HAS INFORMED ITS EEC PARTNERS CONFIDENTIALLY
THAT IT IS WILLING TO CONSIDER ENTRY APPLICATIONS FROM VIETNAMESE REFUGEES, PARTICULARLY FROM ANY HAVING A SPECIAL LINK WITH THE NETHERLANDS. IT IS ALSO OFFERING A GRANT OF ONE MILLION FLORINS
TO UNHCR.
2. NETHERLANDS EMBASSY (SCHAAFSMA) HAS SEPARATELY TOLD US THAT
NETHERLANDS MAY PERHAPS TAKE 60 VIETNAMESE ORPHANS AND AN
UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF REFUGEES. AN ANNOUNCEMENT IS EXPECTED IN
THE NETHERLANDS PARLIAMENT WITHIN A FEW DAYS. WE HAVE DRAWN
ATTENTION TO OUR PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR THE REFUGEES IN HONG
KONG.
3. YOU WILL NO DOUBT PURSUE LOCALLY WITH NETHERLANDS CONSUL-
GENERAL.
4. FOR THE HAGUE. IF YOU SEE NO OBJECTION, AND SUBJECT TO ANY COMMENTS FROM HONG KONG, PLEASE SPEAK TO FOREIGN MINISTRY AGAIN ON APPROPRIATE LINES. SO FAR, ONLY ABOUT ONE QUARTER OF THE 113 ORIGINAL 4,000 REFUGEES (SEE MY TELNO 397 TO HONG KONG) HAVE
BEEN RESETTLED. EVEN ON OPTIMISTIC ASSUMPTIONS, PERMANENT HOMES WILL STILL BE NEEDED BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, FOR A RESIDUE OF SOME 1,500.
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